Which HID kits are highest quality?

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I'm contemplating trying an HID kit in our MDX. It has factory Stanley projectors and the squirrel spotters aren't very intense, making me want to try an HID kit.

I don't want $50 junk from China, but that seems to be all there is out there. Unfortunately, it's not really legal to sell a re-based HID bulb on an H11 base, so I don't know of any reputable company who does it.

Ages ago, I think Philips sold some sort of an HID kit, but I don't think they sell it anymore.

I would be looking for H11s in 4300K only.

Thanks.
 
Not my pics below, but someone else's 2005 MDX.

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I installed one on both the high and low beams on my motorcycle a few years ago. It has a stock projector lens on the low beam, and was rather underpowered for night riding up here. It made a huge difference, and I don't find myself squinting into the darkness looking for deer anymore.

I think I got my kit from DDM tuning, although I can't recall for sure. It has worked well.
 
I've had my Kensuns since 2007.
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They've already outlasted every H1 I ever put in the car. I'm working on 4+ years and probably 80,000 miles on them now. If I lost a bulb or ballast, I would be disappointed that I had to go back in and replace it, but I'd feel like I got my money's worth out of it.

The squirrel spotters got removed from my projectors when I upgraded. It has a very distinct cutoff and matches the factory HID cutoff of an Acura TSX.
 
Just buy a set of used MDX HID headlamps.

99% of HID kits are garbage. If you insist on going aftermarket, find ones that use Philips ballasts/ignitors and Philips capsules.
 
I agree with dparm, but the $150 one from The Retrofit Source is supposed to be one of the better ones.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Just buy a set of used MDX HID headlamps.


This generation MDX never came with HIDs unfortunately, so there are no OEM options. And HIDs work well enough in the stock projectors that I don't have any interest in retrofitting.

Fortunately, it looks like there are decent options.
 
As far as I know they are *all* built in China. You might as well buy the cheapest one. Generally, ddmtuning has the best prices.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
As far as I know they are *all* built in China. You might as well buy the cheapest one. Generally, ddmtuning has the best prices.



Build your own from OEM-quality parts:

http://www.kbcarstuff.com/


Long ago, when they were XenonDepot, they sold all-Philips kits. I had one in my Integra GS-R and it was excellent.

I read about problems all the time from the lousy DDM Tuning kits.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
As far as I know they are *all* built in China. You might as well buy the cheapest one. Generally, ddmtuning has the best prices.

I would not make a blanket statement that all stuff made in China is of equal quality. There are certainly differences.
 
DDM Tuning all the way.

Pretty much all ballasts that aren't OEM Hella etc. are from china.
Just make sure you get a reputable brand.

VVME also makes some good stuff.

Very happy with my 5K 35W low beams on the Passat. I've actually been able to see the last few years.

You'll have to see how thick your wiring is if you want to go with the 55W. Or you could fashion up a relay harness.
The 35W are plenty bright for me; you won't be disappointed. I didn't want to go too bright with the lows in the first place.
 
You said you didn't want to go with a cheap kit, but check this out. I haven't used them before, but people are still buying from him a year later so he might be worth considering.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: Vikas
As far as I know they are *all* built in China. You might as well buy the cheapest one. Generally, ddmtuning has the best prices.



Build your own from OEM-quality parts:

http://www.kbcarstuff.com/


Thanks for that link. I like that kit they sell for $159.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
I agree with dparm, but the $150 one from The Retrofit Source is supposed to be one of the better ones.


Thanks for that tip. This one DOES look like a nice kit:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=3955

Two good choices here I think. $150 give or take is a reasonable amount to pay for a quality system.

Right now, I have Sylvania Xtravision bulbs in it, and I think they're starting to yellow (they've been in for 1.5 years). My next move would be Philips Xtreme-Power bulbs (have 'em in the CR-V and love 'em). However, we drive it a lot at night, especially in the winter months, and I know the overdriven halogens have a limited lifespan. So if I figure I'd get 2 years out of a $50 pair of Philips bulbs, I'm even-Steven with 6 years out of a $150 HID kit. I haven't been one to really like HID systems in the past, but I'm willing to give one a try, for three reasons:

1) It's reasonable to estimate that against upgraded bulbs, an HID kit would be less expensive over time...or at least the same.

2) Given similar cost, I figure reducing my headlamps' power from 55W to 35W can only be a good thing (assuming quality ballasts, etc).

3) Unlike the Honda, the Acura has factory projectors that are already pretty good and have a history of producing good results from HID retrofits.

I may give it a go later this spring or summer (or sooner if I lose an Xtravision before then).
 
I have had pleasure of installing ddmtuning kit (under $50 shipped) on my brother's 7-series. It was a quality kit and I was floored for what he got for that price. All the hardware looked good and there was NO cheapness to any of the components. Just the silicon coated supple wiring alone would cost you over $50 if you could source it separately! And that does not include those expensive connectors.

It is one of those things where some people feel paying three times the price means they must be getting a better quality (or at least a different!) product. I am sure everyone can come up with few example of that phenomenon (e.g. torque wrenches; rotating ratchet; composite ratchet; extensible ratchets)

- Vikas
 
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Like I said before; DDM Tuning.

I don't see why you wouldn't want to pay $50 for a reputable brand.

It wouldn't make sense to me to pay more for something and really not have any more assurance that it will perform.

There's a chance of being disappointed in everything you do. If you spent less on it however, you're not in as deep of a hole.
 
For you guys more familiar with this than I...are the aftermarket items fairly universal as far as connections go? For example, say I buy a DDM Tuning kit and, for instance, I decide down the road that I want to upgrade bulbs to a Philips bulb. Will a different bulb plug into a DDM Tuning ballast, or are the bulbs that come with a DDM Tuning kit pre-assembled to a DDM Tuning ballast harness? I don't know if the bulb-to-ballast connection is standardized in the aftermarket, or if everyone's using proprietary connectors.

Or maybe the aftermarket ballasts mimick the OEM-type ballast connections and once you get a ballast, any HID bulb will connect to it?

I ask because I would want to know before hand if I'm going to go down a road that requires me to stay with one brand unless I replace the entire kit with something else.

Thanks again. This thread has been very helpful to me.
 
The Audi forums have a lot of posts with people who had the DDM kits fail after a few months. Yes they are warrantied but that sucks if you're driving along at night and the lights go out.
 
I think the "burners" are standard and are named something like D2R D2S That tells me that you should be able to swap bulbs. I am not sure about the balast or igniters. Their contacts might not be standard.
 
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